


Kâmau

by rispacooper



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Drunkenness, First Kiss, Humor, M/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-08
Updated: 2011-03-08
Packaged: 2017-10-16 19:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/168598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rispacooper/pseuds/rispacooper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/162361">Okole Maluna</a>, because I love nonsensical drunken conversations beyond all reason. Drunk!Steve is trying to reason out exactly *why* he and Danny aren't having drunken sex.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kâmau

**Author's Note:**

> This story isn't anything like the one I intended to write, which involved Steve knowing all the words to Angel of the Morning and torturing Danny by singing it because Danny is all worried about the morning after and if Steve won't like him anymore once the challenge is gone. Because see Danny is legitimately concerned, but Steve is all uncomfortable with that emotion and so he touches Danny's cheek softly (because okay he kind of means it) but starts to sing, and he's _joking_ but it's kind of _real_ too only Danny thinks he's being a dick and turns into fumey ragey Danny and Steve is really torn on what to do...and possibly wants to keep singing because he finds he likes singing to Danny and and and...Anyway.
> 
> Hail dlasta for once again beta reading my crap at short notice.

“I cannot _believe_ you just said that.”

There was something entrancing about watching Danny jump up from his chair to stalk back and forth across the sand with his hands in his hair. Maybe it was that Steve had never seen anybody in his entire life react as much as Danny reacted to everything, like _everything_ was the end of the world or up for discussion, even little, innocent, harmless things like suggesting that they go inside and spend the night together.

Okay, that wasn’t actually what he’d said, but remarking that he liked morning blow jobs implied all of that, he felt. Besides it wasn’t like he hadn’t broached this subject before. There was no reason for Danny to be freaking out the way he was, except that he was Danny, and freaking out was what he did. Steve really shouldn’t have been surprised, except somehow Danny had surprised him from day one and showed no signs of stopping.

There was only moonlight and the lights from inside the house, but it was more than enough for Steve to track Danny as he paced back and forth, his hands momentarily tearing free of his hair to gesture in Steve’s direction. Danny was slightly flushed and damp with sweat, still wearing the dress shirt he’d changed into halfway through their chase today, after his first one had gotten stained with blood that was thankfully not Danny’s.

Danny’s knuckles were scraped and bruised, Steve knew, though Danny hadn’t let him get a good look at them in the hours since that minor altercation, and hadn’t even bandaged them despite Steve’s urging.

Their suspect’s cousin, who they’d only been hunting down to get an address and who had unfortunately first chosen to run and then had then compounded that bad decision by choosing to change direction and come at Danny Williams with his fists flying, had been a bleeder. A few hits to his stomach hadn’t done anything, but one punch to his nose and he’d fallen down crying and gushing blood all over Danny’s rumpled white shirt.

Steve had kind of been hoping Danny would strip down to the wifebeater he wore under his dress shirt after that, or at least change into something more suitable to the heat, but Danny had pulled another one of his damn dress shirts from his desk and changed into it with one charged look in Steve’s direction.

Daring him to say something, he was sure. So he hadn’t. He had merely stood there and watched Danny expose a lot of skin and then cover it back up and get that irritated note in his voice that he got whenever Steve wasn’t doing what Danny thought he was going to do.

Steve really liked that note, the idea that he was surprising Danny back. He liked it almost as much as he liked the line of Danny’s bare shoulders and the force in Danny’s right hook, and the strange way his hair looked right that very second. He smiled.

He was a little drunk, but not nearly as drunk as Danny.

Still apparently furious, although not, because furious Danny actually alternated between loud and eerily quiet, Danny picked up his bottle of beer and took a drink as he continued wearing a groove into the sand. Steve couldn’t help but think of it as a potential moat, and thought about defenses for a moment, and how he’d cross it if he had to, Danny’s little line in the sand.

Danny was pretty fond of challenges even if he pretended he wasn’t. Steve smiled again.

“No, no, no!” Danny stopped, pointing at him, and Steve wiped the smile off his face and straightened, because though Danny said a lot sometimes that just did not compute, there were often important notes in there that Steve had to remember for later.

Danny snorted, apparently unimpressed with Steve’s posture. Steve frowned, then had some more beer.

“No, this I _can_ believe, because this is you I am talking about, and you are _insane_.” Danny had some beer too before he continued talking. He was railing about something, probably their case today, though aside from their bleeder, it had been a pretty boring day. The highlight had been Danny momentarily shirtless in his office, a moment ruined only by Kono’s wolf whistle from the other room.

Danny tugged at his tie, which was already loose, and shot Steve another hot look. “I mean, first you say that thing, that thing the other night, Steven, that thing I thought we weren’t mentioning. That thing with the tequila.”

“The other night” had been a few months ago, but if Danny wanted to act as though it had just happened, then Steve wasn’t going to argue. Of course, when Danny looked at him like that, he _wanted_ to argue. He really wasn’t sure why, but he hadn’t done anything wrong here, and so he had to defend his honor.

He had another drink and then interrupted Danny before Danny went on some more about how Steve never paid for anything. He’d paid for the beer they were drinking right now and Danny knew it.

“Oh that night,” he said calmly, mostly just to watch Danny almost swallow his tongue and get indignant. He liked indignant Danny too, even though it was inconvenient to have someone around always pointing out when you’d—possibly—made a mistake, there was something about how Danny got upset with him, fiery and impatient and sarcastic and not even a little bit afraid. He never got tired either. They could butt heads all day and still Danny would have something to say.

“Yes. Yes, Steven, that night.” Danny waved a hand to grant him an imaginary point, graciously indicating he didn’t think Steve was a total idiot.

“That night when I told you I wanted to fuck you and you told me to sharpen my spear.” Steve’s voice went husky as he said the words, and he honestly wasn’t sure what turned him on more. Maybe all the bottles of beer were hitting him, or maybe it was the memory of Danny’s wide, stunned eyes and pink cheeks when he’d first said that. Maybe it just was how hearing him say it again made Danny pull at the knot on his tie again and the way knot itself slid down an inch on its own after that. Steve shifted in his seat and then valiantly attempted to regain his focus.

“You said I had to work for it. I took that to mean I had to figure out what you wanted.” He saw absolutely no reason not be totally honest. Danny was always honest with him.

Somewhat drunken confusion flickered across Danny’s face for half a moment, then he shook his head. His hair went in the opposite direction. Steve smoothed one palm over his knee as he imagined petting that hair back down. But he focused back on Danny’s face with effort when Danny’s turned up the volume.

“No no you do not get to decide to listen to me for this and then never for anything else. That is not how this is going to work.”

“I listen.” Steve jerked his head back and frowned. He forgot about sliding his fingers through Danny’s hair. “I listen to everything.” Mostly. He gave a shrug. There were times it was better to ignore Danny and focus on the job to be done because he could already tell from his tone that Danny was winding down and was going to land on Steve’s side of the argument anyway. Those times he didn’t listen, but the rest of the time he did. He _had_ to. Because arguing with, hell, _talking_ with Danny was like hiking through the jungle, he had to stay sharp and listen, because if he let himself get distracted by the pretty flora, even for a second, Danny would have him.

He didn’t think it was the beer making him mix his metaphors. He could blame that one completely on the man kicking up sand at him. He thought, bad habits from bad company, but then shook his head, since Danny wasn’t bad company at all.

“No you do not,” Danny snapped back at him, and the next words out of his mouth, the usual ones about Steve’s driving, about getting shot at, about Steve not understanding backup, were familiar even if they lacked their usual zing. Almost like Danny wasn’t feeling them at the moment, but was saying them as a distraction.

Steve narrowed his eyes and licked beer from his mouth as he considered that, and then on what it would take to get Danny inside and naked.

“Are you…? You’re not even listening to me now, are you?” Danny directed his outrage at the waves though he flapped his hands at Steve. It spilled some beer on his bare forearm and he swore as he absently licked it off. Steve sighed.

“Hey!” Danny came forward to snap his fingers in his face. Steve batted his hand away and scowled up at him.

“I was listening.” His tone was defensive and he knew it. He didn’t like giving ground, even to Danny, even though Danny never punished or hurt him for him it. In fact, Danny normally rewarded him for it, smiles, gracious nods, maybe one softly teasing remark before letting the point go, and those were…those were nice things…not difficult to deal with at all. They were maybe even things Steve sometimes went out of his way to earn, but all these moments of surrender still weren’t something he was used to.

“No, my friend, you weren’t. And that is the problem with you. _That_ is the problem with _you_. You hear my words but you do not _listen_ to _me_. That is not what I am talking about. You seem to think…” Danny dragged one hand back into his hair and took a long, long drink of his beer. He was talking again the moment the bottle was off his lips. “You know what? Let’s just drink our beer in peace and manly _silence_ , alright?”

Not certain of this tactic, but well aware Danny could not be silent unless saving someone’s life was actually involved, Steve gave a cautious nod. Danny nodded back at him and looked pleased for the heartbeat until Steve opened his mouth.

“If I may,” Steve asked, and took Danny gaping without speaking as permission to speak freely. “I don’t get what the problem is. We’re two adults. You _obviously_ find me attractive.”

There was some sputtering from Danny’s direction at that. Wound up and indignant and heated sputtering but not an actual protest or denial. It was probably the beer that made Steve feel warm all over, but he continued on before Danny could work up to another argument. He could never look away from Danny like this. It was like watching a grenade, one part danger and two parts anticipation. He liked it so he went with it; there was no reason not to, no warning signs in the air, no finely honed senses telling him to be anything other than careful with his words.

“And I want you,” he finished, a touch smugly, but Danny was staring at him intently, so he was entitled.

It was surprisingly _surprising_ how Danny grunted at him instead of agreeing. Steve took another sip to help with the way his thoughts were starting to spin. Danny always had to surprise him. He could never just do what Steve thought was best. It should have been irritating. Instead the word invigorating came to mind. Then irritating again.

“And that’s it, Smooth Dog?” Danny was so… Steve normally liked his arguing, really, because at first it was frustrating, but now it was just…frustrating. He shifted and Danny wasn’t blind. He glanced down at Steve’s crotch and then glared back into his face. He waved a finger, but he wet his lips. “Oh no, did I not just say…? No.” He licked his mouth again. Steve stared. “ _Looks_. I told you…”

“You told me to sharpen my spear,” Steve repeated in a low voice to watch the flush cross Danny’s face. The area behind Danny was starting to weave a little, but Danny was somehow coming in clear.

“I did not.”

“Did too.” Steve grinned and nodded. He felt stupid but at least Danny’s attention was on him. “You called me a caveman—from several different stages of evolution by the way–and then you told me I had to work for your…” he slid his gaze very slowly down over Danny’s body, “…side of beef.”

Danny’s mouth fell open before he remembered himself and shut it. “You remember that with that much tequila in your…of course you do.” What he muttered to himself was too quiet for Steve to hear, except for the words, “goddamn macho ass _Seal_.”

Steve kept his smile as he took long pull from his beer, an action which, he noticed, seemed to knock Danny off track for a moment. Good. Steve had a feeling it was strange the way he collected weapons to use on his partner. He had no idea why he even did it, but his instincts said he had to, that he had to do something to combat the way Danny seemed to always get his way with him.

He knew Danny didn’t think that was true, but the fact was Steve had never had to work like this at anything except BUD/S, and while that was clearly more painful and a bigger challenge, this fight was the one where he continually felt like he was slipping and falling behind. Almost panicked, except that Seals do not panic. The feeling that was a lot like panic however, made him grasp at anything, including getting Danny drunk in order to talk to him, which had felt vaguely dishonorable until he made sure to get himself drunk too. He just hadn’t anticipated how much alcohol it would actually take to get Danny warm and relaxed and hopefully totally off guard.

“Look that is _not_ what happened,” Danny tried, and it was such a lie, a lie, from _Danno_ , that Steve sat up and raised his voice.

“No what happened was I put a move on you, Danny. And you…didn’t say no.” There was more sputtering, one sputter, but Steve overrode it this time. “You talked a lot and made some weird remarks about leopard print but you did not tell me no. You, Danno, you dared me to figure out what you wanted.”

Even in the bad light, he could see the blush on Danny’s face. He took a drink to stall for time and then crossed his arms. He looked away, then back at Steve.

“Fine,” he agreed, chin up. “So what if I did? This here is what I want? A sixer or two, and sand in my pants and Steve McGarrett offering me a morning bj?”

Danny had a new tone as he said the words. A warm tone. A rasping, wet tone. He looked into Steve’s eyes and Steve leaned forward, just an inch, suddenly tense and ready to spring because it would be good between them. So good. Then Danny broke eye contact and Steve sat back with a short grunt.

“No.” His throat felt dry until he got Danny’s eyes back on him. Danny snorted so Steve shrugged, rolling off that lie. “Well yes, it’s what you want, clearly.” He paused to gesture with his bottle, waving it at Danny’s crotch where Danny was flying at half mast. “But no.” He focused on Danny’s face with serious effort but his voice stayed rough with frustration. “This is me working for it.” He refused to think that he sounded _longing_.

“Oh really?” Danny scoffed, but maybe softer than he would have if they hadn’t been drunk in Steve’s backyard. “And how exactly is that, General Patton?”

Patton was Army, which Steve resisted pointed out only through years of training to stay on target. Anyway, Danny knew that and was fucking with him again.

“Surprise attack,” he admitted. “I’m changing the rules.” He swayed a little as he tipped his bottle back to catch drops on his tongue.

“Surpr— _no_.” The “no” was so sharp Steve almost flinched. But the list of things that could make him flinch was very, very short. Just the same, he regarded Danny with a certain…wariness. Danny’s arms stayed crossed. “No you do not get to do that, Steven.”

“Why not?” It seemed an obvious tactic. Danny howled.

“Because that is not how dating works!” He chucked his bottle to the ground by his feet so he could use both hands to lay things out. “There are _stages_ , there are _rules_ that are there for very good reasons, there is trust earned and dinners bought and…”

“Dating?” There was kind of a hiccup in Steve’s chest as he tried to say the word instead of pointing out that he trusted Danny and he’d thought Danny trusted him, but Danny didn’t seem to hear him anyway. Danny was not even looking at him, so if there was the shock on his face that Steve was pretty sure there was, he at least had to time to hide it.

Dating, he repeated mentally. He was out to sleep with Danny sure, and the guy was a good partner, and maybe, maybe someone could have called what he was doing—asking Danny out to meals, spending his free nights and weekends with him, taking his daughter out with them—dating, but somehow hearing Danny say it made it sound different. Like it meant something else.

“…you watch movies you don’t like and maybe hold hands and get to know my kid and…”

“I already know Grace. She’s amazing, Danny.” Steve jumped back into the game mostly because that was what they did, argue, and because the ground was slipping away again. He was behind in this one and he did not like the feeling. He put down his empty beer.

“Shut up,” Danny told him fiercely. “I am talking here. But yes of course my daughter’s amazing. She’s mine.”

Steve nodded along with that, not even humoring Danny, which was alarming too, setting off his instincts and warnings bells too late, and pissed or not, Danny rolled a hand to let Steve know that he was allowed that one. The goodwill lasted until Steve spoke again.

“That’s pretty obvious, Danny. You’re always talking.”

“That!” Danny jumped down his throat. “That right there. That is not flowers, Steven.”

“You want flowers?” Steve felt like he was grasping, coming up, getting closer to shore, but somehow he was still missing something.

“No!” Danny choked and spat and seemed _disappointed_ , all at the same time. “No I do not want flowers.”

“Because I tried other things.” Steve really had. He’d solved two child killer cases so Danny wouldn’t get that look on his face that he got whenever children were threatened, and he’d read two suspects their rights right there in front of him so Danny could hear, and he’d promised Danny that if Grace were to ever go snorkeling, he’d be right there to make sure she wouldn’t be in any trouble, though he would have done that anyway at the look at her face when she’d mentioned it.

His hard work had not gone unnoticed at least. Danny made a growling sound.

“Mirandizing suspects before you drop them out a window does not count.” He bit it out. Steve put on his innocent face, the one he’d learned early on was about the same as lighting Danny’s fuse. But he really didn’t see why not.

“Right there!” There was pointing and flailing as Danny went off. “That face. _You are not listening to me_.” Fuming, Danny still took the time to clearly enunciate every word of that sentence like Steve was an idiot after all and it only got worse when Steve stared blankly back up at him. “You don’t even know what I’m talking about do you?” Danny shouted, then suddenly drooped. His shoulders fell as he exhaled. “This is why this is a mistake no matter how much I want…”

“Get that glint of victory out of your eyes, Captain America!” In seconds furious Danny was back with him. His hair was really standing up now from how much he’d run his hands through it. His tie was nearly all the way loose, and his throat and part of his chest were visible. He was panting. Steve struggled to be serious now, to focus. Even with his heart pounding and the sense that listening right now was of dire importance, Danny was distracting him.

It was honestly…it was just…not something he could fight easily. And now matter how much he was around Danny, it never went away, and it never got any easier. But he scowled at the thought and pulled back his shoulders, because he wasn’t going to run from anything, and definitely not a cop from the Mainland with high energy hair and soft eyes and an irritating way of explaining things as though he felt Steve should know them already.

“I am telling you that relationships are serious things. Maybe you don’t know that because maybe you know traveling the world without settling down, and one night stands, and friends with benefits who work on aircraft carriers and do you special Top Secret Black Ops type favors when they aren’t back here ripping your clothes off, but I am not those things. _This_ is not those things, Steven. This is something else, more if we let it be, and relationships, Steven, listen to me, involve more than dicks. Oh fuck my life.” Danny punctuated his own words with profanity and a wave at Steve who, maybe, was still not following whatever it was he was trying to say. He nearly asked if this was about Catherine, because while Steve liked her they weren’t a couple or anything, but Danny had the especially annoyed look on his face and he was starting to get the murderous tone to his voice.

That tone was actually one of the few things that _could_ make Steve flinch. It was a _very_ short list, but two of Danny’s tones were on it, this one and the one where Danny seemed disappointed in him.

Danny took a moment and then after gathering his hands to his chest, exploded again into something louder and more insistent.

“We are coworkers. Partners. There is more at stake here than us.”

“You are going to argue again.” Steve got that much. He was aware that he did not sound as upset by this as he should have. Danny caught that too.

“Fuck you, you like it when I argue. That’s what _you_ said that night.” It was Danny’s turn to be proud and smug in his face. It lasted about fifteen seconds. Then he was pissed off again, almost too pissed off, like this wasn’t about that at all. Steve was really starting to regret his “get Danny drunk” strategy. “You like the challenge, but what about when that’s gone? There are, _whoa_ , are there so many reasons not to do this.”

Danny came closer and held out his hands to list things on his fingers. Steve crossed his arms to listen. Danny liked it when he listened, or at least looked like he was.

“There is our jobs. There is 5-O. There is Chin and Kono and maybe you don’t know how rare it is to find people who…fuck. I can’t believe I have to…” Danny tore off his tie and threw it in the sand. Steve held his breath, and then swallowed, and then really, honestly tried not to get too distracted by the patch of pale skin being offered to him, but Danny caught him looking anyway.

“Hey!” He snapped his fingers again. “Eyes up, McGarrett. I have a point to get to here.”

Steve, nicely, and in Danny’s own crazy language, waved for him to continue.

“Fuck you,” was his reward this time, making Steve wrinkle his forehead. “What we have there….it’s a like a family.” Danny paused and Steve realized that he’d inhaled loudly enough for Danny to hear. He stopped to really look at Danny this time, and Danny seemed to get that, because he softened his voice. “Family, Steven, and that’s kind of a different concept for you, but even you know that you do not fuck with family. No matter what. You understand me?”

Slowly, Steve nodded. “You don’t fuck with family,” he repeated obediently, his voice rough, and for a second it looked like Danny was going to come over to pat his head. He would have been offended, but he really did like knowing that he’d made Danny happy.

“And then there’s Grace, I…” Danny pulled back from and scratched his chin, then his scalp, before popping another button but this time Steve couldn’t look away from his face. “If this… if you… You don’t get to hurt her do you understand me? Do you know what I would do to you if you did just because I make your dick twitch?”

Steve nodded again without a second’s thought, and then felt another fleeting moment of panic. He was giving ground, way too much ground, and he couldn’t even blame the beer, because Danny was being soft and almost reasonable. Danny was pleased that he was listening, and worse than that, Steve wanted to listen.

He had to give another nod; he couldn’t _not_ do it with Danny talking like that, but then he went blank-faced, out of habit, instinct, sharpened senses screaming that he can’t give anything away when Danny went on and looked right at him. Steve’s heart started pounding like the surf around them, telling him that this was important, something had happened and he needed to be sharp.

“She…she loves you and you have no idea what that even is, do you? You do, but you don’t, and I can’t even blame you, but let me tell you, it’s double def con six, code red, S.O fucking S. or whatever the Seal code is for serious. So you will not mess with this just to get your rocks off.” Danny stopped, swaying either from the force of what he was saying or because he’d had one too many.

“This you do not do unless you mean it, Steven. Because I do not unless I mean it. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Steve said, because he had to say something, but his mind was spinning, as he came to the, incredibly obvious actually, realization that Danny was not subtle.

Danny, Steve worked out very carefully, considering the angles and exits and possible traps, was talking about _love_ here and had been since that night. Danny was like family, _was_ family, already, and he was worried that Steve would ruin that.

It made sense, in a certain way, if he considered the divorce, or Danny leaving New Jersey to come here, like it made sense to think of Kono and Chin when he thought of Mary, and how he’d felt when they’d been threatened.

But fear was something to fight if the goal was worth it, and no, Steve could admit he honestly didn’t know entirely what Danny was asking him for, but he wanted to.

What they had, he would never endanger that. Or he would have, at first, before he knew Danny, before they’d worked together like they had, but now he wouldn’t. Too much beer meant his thoughts were running together, quick and urgent. Chin. Kono. The team. Mary. Grace. This house.

He turned away from Danny to stare at the ocean. Water usually calmed him, but not now. It made him jump inside like the sound of Danny’s voice as it rose.

“I said are we clear, McGarrett?”

“Yeah.” Steve swung back to face him and felt his attention snap and his vision sharpen as all his focus returned. He cleared his throat to be heard, and smiled. “Yeah we’re clear.”

He wasn’t expecting Danny to look so startled by that. But he took one step back, then another. This time Danny it was Danny losing ground and Steve wasn’t sure why, or even why he kept thinking of it in those terms, because didn’t know much about relationships, Danny was right, but he remembered his childhood and his parents, and he knew it wasn’t a fight as he was used to them, but Danny had definitely been weakened by Steve’s agreement and was trying, and failing, to recover.

He had to take advantage of that. He’d been through too much training not to.

“Danno…”

“That was supposed to—“

“Scare me off?” Steve finished for him. “Yeah I got that. But I don’t scare easily, Danny, and I…want you.” It was close to what he ought to say. Close enough to get his adrenaline pumping and make him swallow and shift with restless energy.

“Of course you don’t, you love a challenge. You’re like the Wolverine with slut tattoos. And you don’t get to just…” Danny flapped one hand when Steve started to object to the term “slut tattoos”, “listen to me now. To want this now…” This…this was a new tone from Danny, unsteady and bleeding fear as though Grace was at risk. Steve wanted to make it go away. A lot. Normally this would have involved shooting something, but he’d been listening, he could learn. Danny had said there were rules, and rules could be changed. Exploited. Ignored with immunity and means when the cause was great enough.

“Why not?” Steve kept his voice soft, and oh yeah he had Danny off guard. He liked that, so he stood up. Danny’s eyes widened before flicking down to check him out. Okay. Okay, Steve could work with this. He could make weapons out of any materials at hand, yes, just like MacGyver as Danny would no doubt tell him, but he also knew that you didn’t waste a chance like this. Now he was pretty sure he knew what Danny had been talking about, and it…wasn’t so bad. His finely honed senses were even telling him it could be good. Great. Amazing.

It was a little frightening too, but Steve worked through fear all the time. He took a step forward. Danny, being Danny, misinterpreted. By which Steve meant he freaked out.

He put a hand up and Steve stopped. He wondered vaguely if Danny’s heart was racing too. If he liked it as much.

“No, no! Now you’re doing it again!”

“Are you _complaining_ that I’m stopping?” He _was_. Danny was complaining that Steve was backing off after complaining that he’d been coming on to him. Aggravating, yes, but Steve loved it. Danny was grasping at the sand too, but at least they were grasping together. He went back on his heels as Danny started to work himself up again, waiting for inevitable conflict but not commenting. Danny didn’t believe him yet. It was too soon, and Danny was a suspicious little guy.

Steve didn’t mind. His blood was pumping and, finally, he had some idea of what to do.

“…That you’re…you’re _not_ stopping. Stop doing that!”

“Stop stopping?” Okay, now he was confused again. Danny growled at him.

“I am trying to be…you know what? I’m out of here.”

Of course, that was something else entirely, Danny running away. A _wasted_ Danny running away.

“No,” Steve barked, forgetting everything else for the moment. “No way,” he told both Danny’s stubborn face and his stubborn tone. “You aren’t driving like this, Danno. If you want I’ll call someone. A cab. Or…” Only for Danny would he do this. Only for Danny would he have to. Steve ran his hands through his hair and gritted his teeth at the brief surge of denied need. “There’s a couch. There’s Mary’s room, the spare room, take your pick. You can sleep it off here.” He threw up his hands before Danny could speak. “Alone. I’ll leave you alone, I promise.” If he had to cross his heart, he was going to get shitfaced and pass out on the lanai. “We don’t even have to talk anymore.”

Danny shut his mouth, hard, but didn’t move. He rubbed at his jaw, all the while glaring at Steve.

“You’re giving up?”

“Never.” It was kind of a vow. Danny stared at him, so Steve rolled his eyes and said the rest. “I’m just giving you some space.” It burned to admit that much, but it was the right thing to do. He put a hand up though, not to cross his heart, because he had been spending time with Grace but not _that_ much time with Grace, but because he was half-expecting Danny to argue that if Steve thought he needed his space here he was sorely mistaken, and maybe something about how they might do space out here on this rain drenched rock of an island, but they didn’t back in Jersey, but Danny just kept on looking at him. And swaying a little, but he _was_ fairly toasted.

“I want you, Danny. But you want to be sure and I…I can respect that.” The disturbing thing about feeling like this about Danny was that he actually did respect that. At this point he didn’t think there was much that Danny couldn’t talk him into. It seemed unfair that he never got to talk Danny into anything good in return. Danny would argue that, Steve was sure, but he had yet to get Danny into even a _pool_. He couldn’t even point out that Danny sounded like a girl in a movie from the Fifties.

“Danny?” Steve wondered after the pause went on, annoyed that he was giving up even more now by asking, but his pulse didn’t slow until Danny blinked and shook himself.

“You are very annoying when you do this,” he commented at last, but quieter than he had been.

Steve shrugged. “I can’t help myself, Danno.”

“That I believe.” Danny gave him attitude, but then abruptly moved again, changing direction to sweep past Steve. He sat back down in his abandoned chair and scooped up a new beer. He popped off the cap and took a swig.

It was a small victory, Steve supposed, but a victory. At least Danny was staying. And it wasn’t like Steve was intimidated by the long, slow battle that was going to be getting Danny to trust him with everything else in his life, with convincing Danny to give him a shot. He could do it. He’d trained for tougher things.

He could even admit to feeling pleased, if still frustrated, by this turn of events, because he’d given up something, but Danny was with him and not going anywhere. It didn’t really bode well for any future discussions of this nature, at least not for Steve, but he was confident he could find some way to regain the upper hand before they had this talk again, so anything he’d lost was temporary at best. And anyway, he thought again, Danny was staying with him, which was a win all around.

Recovering his balance, Steve sat back down too. He was breathing a little too hard for someone above water, and if not for the beer he might have spent another second wondering why, but Danny was watching him, so he reached for another beer as well and stared back, feeling warm again.

Danny instantly clicked their bottles together as though they’d just reached some sort of agreement. Steve tried his best to look as though he understood what that was. It didn’t help that his face was starting to feel numb.

“Cheers,” he managed with his throat tight, trying to get why Danny suddenly seemed so amused.

“As long as we understand each other,” he said and Steve had no time to think about what that meant, because Danny leaned over close to him, and he was warm and relaxed and not at all freaking out, and in fact looking like he wanted to scratch behind Steve’s ear.

When Steve frowned at him, caught and confused and slightly wary, Danny shook his head, as though Steve was still just that _little_ bit behind, and explained, obnoxiously slowly, “I don’t need any more space, Steven,” before pressing a short, careful kiss to Steve’s mouth, as though Steve had earned it.

Steve honestly had no idea why. But he was willing to go with it.

“I’m feeling a little better about my chances in the morning,” he murmured when Danny pulled away, and then smiled when Danny exploded.


End file.
